When vying for a highly sought-after non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), a nation must take certain measurements in guaranteeing success. In Australia’s case, a strong US alliance, engagement with Asia, and leadership in multilateral organisations simply won’t cut it. Just ask Canada – who has stood successfully for a two-year stint on the Security Council once a decade ever since the U.N. was created in 1948 – until now.
Canada’s unprecedented failure to win a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council last month triggered a wave of analysis and soul searching in the country, where many see it as payback by Islamic states and their allies for the conservative government’s strong pro-Israel stance in the world body.
Like Canada, whose own Canadian Arab Federation urged all Arab and Islamic states to vote against Canada’s UNSC bid, Australia too has been warned by the Arab League over its support for Israel. However, unlike Canada, Australia has flip-flopped on some U.N. resolutions, changing its position from supportive to critical of Israel. Is Australia’s foreign policy on Israel so vulnerable that it’s determined by a gang of bullies at the Arab League? And how far is Canberra willing to bend in order to play on the world stage?
Australia has invested significant political, diplomatic and financial resources in its bid for one of 10 non-permanent Security Council seats for 2013. But the threat of the Arab League and its aligned nations indicates that it will be difficult for Australia to out-poll the European nations, which are regularly more critical of Israel.
Under the current Gillard government, Australia’s supportive stance for Israel is still uncertain. Today, it is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who has unquestionably emerged as Israel’s strongest supportive statesman, effectively assuming the role previously occupied by former Australian PM John Howard.
From 2006-2009 Canada held a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, sharing the table with Saudi Arabia, China, and Bangladesh. During that period, it clashed repeatedly with Islamic and other non-democratic members. Canada led a small group of mostly European democracies in the council (sometimes joined by others like Japan and Chile) seeking to counter the influence of Islamic states and their allies – usually without success.
On several occasions it voted alone against a resolution. A January 2009 measure condemning Israel for “grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” passed with a 33-1 vote, for instance, with 13 European and other democracies choosing to abstain rather than join Canada in voting no. PM Harper asserts that “when Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack – is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand.” Does Australia have that courage?
Canada also took an early stand on not attending last year’s controversial “Durban II” conference – an event used as an anti-Semitic propaganda exercise, focusing on Israel and the campaign against “defamation of religion.” It was later joined in that stance by Israel, Australia and several other democracies, including – at the eleventh hour – the United States.
The Security Council seat will be voted on by all 192 UN members. Although the Arab League represents only 22 of them, it often votes at the UN in alliances with the African Union and with the Non-Aligned Movement. Given the numerical preponderance of Israel-hating third-world nations in the General Assembly, Australia would be reluctant to put another nail in its bid’s coffin by outrightly supporting Israel.
Australia has now found out, while Canada has “the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations, or any other international forum, the easy thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israeli rhetoric, to pretend it is just being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of “honest broker.”” Canadian PM Stephen Harper recently said. “There are, after all, a lot more votes, a lot more, in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand. But, as long as I am Prime Minister, whether it is at the UN or the Francophonie or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israeli mob tells us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are, in the longer term, a threat to all of us.”
It is time for Australia to bare its teeth and thrash about on the world stage – let Australia to take that stand, whatever the cost.
